"Your grace," The maid entered the room after a while. Booth put the head back in the box and summoned Edith.

"Miss Edith is waiting for you," said the maid.

"Good. Let her in," Booth ordered the maid. Despite what happened, Booth didn't show any anger in his tone.

"As you wish, your grace," The maid bowed and left the room. Booth silently waited for Edith, staring at the snow-covered city through the window. The people of Valeria had no worries with their guardians looking over them. Unlike the other parts of Ozer, the war didn't touch the land of Valeria. Booth was a great general and even greater duke than many had expected. His ruthlessness, coupled with King Maxim's financial support, turned once ordinary duchy into an extraordinary place. Many thusians preferred to live in Valeria more than even Diamond valley.

But Booth knew the tranquility he sees is temporary. The moment Ghost stepped into his duchy, it would be thrown into war. Ghost could attack them in an all-out war; instead, he was taking his time, just like Booth did to the sanctuary. It was not an understatement to say the majority of the thusians were terrified, including the royal family. The last time Booth met Queen Valeria, she seemed as graceful and courageous as before, yet Booth could see the fear in her eyes. The loss they suffered in the Golden Port battle was slowly taking effect. Without the Golden Port, they would face hardships in bringing food to survive the winter. If that was not trouble enough, Booth read the reports that Ghost's army was planning to launch a full-scale attack on Northguard.

"Duke Booth," His train of thought was abruptly stopped by the gentle voice of Edith.

"Come in," Booth said. He slowly turned around, gesturing for Edith to take a seat before him.

"I have a gift for you. I received it, but I feel like you also deserve to see it," said Booth.

"Is that the gift?" Edith pointed at the wooden boxes. As a runemaster, she could see engraved runes in the wooden box.

"Yes," nodded Booth.

He slowly sat on his chair before sliding the box toward Edith. She took the box in her hand. For a few moments, Edith looked around the box. It felt heavy in her hands.

Finally, Edith placed the box on her lap and slowly opened the top. The moment she opened the box, a pungent stench of blood hit her nostrils. Her eyes widened as she felt a chill looking at the severed head.

"Ah!" She threw the box in the air. With a flick of his wrist, Booth controlled the box and made it safely land on it with the head still inside.

Edith's face was pale. She breathed heavily.

"Guess who that is? My nephew Kevin," Booth said without showing any signs of anger in his tone.

"He went to capture that bitch of a general Ghost have with the iron cage you engraved with your runes," Booth said. He was nonchalant.

Edith was not in the mood to be shocked. Rather, she was too terrified. The image of the severed head, the dead eyes staring back at her, haunted her mind. Booth gave Edith some time to collect her thoughts.

"I want to see the cage," said Edith.

"My men are bringing the cage here as we speak. But Miss Edith, I am having doubts about your skills. If your plan to frame Ghost as the Dark Lord didn't work, we are all royally screwed. You know that, right?"

Edith did not respond to Booth for a few moments.

"I still believe no human could have escaped the cage," said Edith.

"Your grace," Booth heard a soldier's voice coming from outside the door.

"The cage is in the backyard," said the soldier.

"Miss Edith,"

Booth and Edith left the room without wasting time. They headed straight to the backyard, where everything was covered in snow. The dummies for the soldiers to practice almost drowned in the snow. The servers were still sweeping the snow, and some mages helped them by casting a fire spell to melt the snow. When they saw Booth and Edith, they immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed.

The cage was bent and looked crooked, as though it was crushed by something heavy.

Edith made her way to the cage. She walked around the cage.

"What happened to it?" asked Edith.

"Miss Edith. We found the cage under the rubble of the underground prison. Whoever attacked our men destroyed the place completely," said the soldier. Since Booth did not tell his men who attacked the Northguard trap designed for General Aelia, the soldiers assumed it was an unnamed assailant who attacked the place. They didn't even know about the death of Kevin.

"That explains the state of this cage," nodded Edith.

Suddenly Booth creased his brows. He slowly walked to the cage and leaned forward to inspect the two bent metal bars closely.

"What is that?" asked Edith, pointing at a strange-looking scale imprinted on the bar.

Booth gently grabbed the violent scale and peeled it off the bar. He raised it in the air,

"A scale of a Naga," Booth mumbled. The scale glimmered in the light. It still radiated a faint glow. Anyone else would have mistaken the scale for a snake or a creature but not Booth. He was too familiar with the Nagas. After all, he spent a good part of his life in Nagaland. Hence, he knew more about the Nagas than anyone in the kingdom.

"How did it end up in the cage?" Booth asked himself.

Edith quickly conjured a ball of light. When she placed the light closer to the cage, the light illuminated a handprint on each bent bar. The handprint on the bar was several times bigger than a typical human's handprint.

"You doubted my skills. And now, I am doubting your spies' skills, " Edith said. She didn't like the way Booth ridiculed her skills. When Booth was building the cage and asking for her help, she clearly mentioned that no humans could escape the cage for five long hours. The plan was to capture Aelia, knock her down within the cage, and transport her to Valeria to use as a hostage. Although the nagas and humans looked the same when a naga was in their human form, the nagas were several times stronger when they transformed into their true form. In their true form, they became the strongest race, only next to the Sea Folk. Some Nagas could even fight a fully-grown dragon head-to-head. In other words, humans were nowhere near a naga in terms of strength and power. So if the naga was trapped inside a cage, he or she could break the cage with minimal effort.

"The report clearly stated they captured that girl," Booth recalled the report he read. His spies were no fools to mistake someone else for Ghost's general and fiance.

Booth turned his gaze toward the soldiers,

"Put the cage in the store room," Booth ordered his men. Afterward, he quickly made his way back to his room, followed by Edith. When the two of them reached the room, Booth put the scale inside a small wooden box.

"The reports don't lie. My men captured Aelia, and she was the one inside the cage," said Booth. His voice and face became more serious than usual.

Shock and surprise were written all over her face. She had been surprised too many times today. First, her sister revealed that she has a spirit child with Ghost; now, Booth implicates that Aelia might be a Naga. The scale Booth found and the sheer strength required to bend the bars she enhanced with runes all suggested a human couldn't have broken out of the cage.

"She is a Naga in human form. That explains her powers," said Booth.

Only a few survived Gaya's slaughter, and they spread tales that almost sounded too terrifying to believe. Booth heard those who survived became insane. Even the best of his generals lost their lives to her. He always wondered how a typical human girl like her could be that powerful. Her origin as a NAga explained a lot. Fortunately, the Nagas were a race that preferred to stay in their kingdom. One could rarely see a Naga outside their kingdom. Moreover, the Nagas kept a list of their citizens who ventured outside Nagaland. Thanks to the Nagas' cautious nature, Booth had a chance to discover Aelia's identity. At this point, Booth believed even her name Aelia was anything but true.

"I have a few contacts in Nagaland. So I'll find out who she really is," said Booth.

"I have a better way. Give me a day," said Edith. If Booth had contacts in Nagaland, Edith knew the princess of Nagaland herself.

"You care to tell me what you're planning to do?" Booth tilted his head.

"Believe me. It's better this way," said Edith.

Booth did not argue with Edith. A day wouldn't make a difference. Besides, regardless of Edith's plan, Booth would send scrolls to his contacts in Nagaland enquiring about the Naga with Ghost. Edith left the room after taking the box with the Naga scale. Eventually, Booth left his room for the capital. He was ordered to meet princess Victoria in the castle. They had to plan ahead for the upcoming battles.

By nightfall, Booth arrived at Maxim Barnes's castle. He was welcomed by a group of crimson-red armored soldiers who were armed to the teeth. Powerful mages and archers accompanied the knights. They led Booth to the war room, where he met Princess Victoria.

"Your royal highness," Booth dropped to his one knee, facing the princess.

"Rise, Duke Booth,"

"Please, call me General Booth as you always do, your royal highness," a slight smile emerged on Victoria's face. Only a few people had the ability to make Victoria smile, and Booth was one of them. He practically raised Princess Victoria with her parents. In public, Booth was a stoic General, but when they were in private, Booth was like a doting uncle to Victoria.

Simply put, Booth loved Victoria more than he loved anyone in his own family, including Kevin. If Victoria's head was in the box instead of Kevin's, Booth would have gone berserk and destroyed everything in his path.